The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series made its way west to wine country and Sonoma Raceway over the weekend, July 17 through 19.
In Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta drove his Aflac dragster to his 61st career win and seventh at the track. Kalitta took out Clay Millican’s Denso dragster in round one with a 3.724 @ 336.91 mph. Kalitta’s semifinal match up with Antron Brown was an all-out pedal fest. Brown left the starting line first and both cars began to lose traction, Kalitta was able to regain traction and motored to a 4.105 @ 251.77 mph to Brown’s 4.917 @ 164.77. In the final round, Kalitta would take on San Jose native Jasmine Salinas. Fighting for her first career win, Salinas came up just short when her Scrappers team dragster lost a cylinder while leading, thus losing over 1,000 of her 10,000-horsepower motor. She slowed to a 3.815 @ 319.14 mph and could only watch as Kalitta streaked by to a 3.731 @ 339.96 mph victory. Kalitta’s crew chief Allen Johsnon won this race 30 years ago in 1996 with his brother Blaine who later lost his life in an accident at the US Nationals in Indy.
During the Funny Car competition, Jordan Vandergriff not only qualified on the pole but brought home the diamond Wally for John Force Racing on the 20th anniversary of the late Eric Medlen’s win at the 2006 event. Vandergriff took on second generation Funny Car driver Jason Rupert in round one. Rupert left on Vandergriff but didn’t have the performance needed with a 4.04 @ 322.50 mph to hold off Vandergriff’s 3.891 @ 328.46 mph. Round two, Vandergriff would take on four-time champion Matt Hagan. This time, Hagan fell short with a 3.956 @ 327.98 mph as Vandergriff slipped by with a 3.932 @ 330.72 mph. In the semifinal round, it was Vandergriff taking on the former driver of the JFR Cornwell Tools Camaro, two-time champion Austin Prock, who took over the driving duties of Bob Tasca’s Motorcraft Ford Mustang at the beginning of the year. Prock, like Hagan and Rupert, would leave on Vandergriff but fell short as Vandergriff powered past with a 3.911 @ 329.91 mph to Prock’s 3.921 @ 329.67. In the final, he would take on Daniel Wilkerson and the Scag team. Once again Vandergriff left the starting line second but was able to fly by with a 3.90 @ 330.72 mph to Wilkerson’s 3.95 @ 301.13.
Pro Stock action saw Greg Stanfield score for the second straight year at this event in round one. Greg left on his son Aaron and never looked back with a 6.534 @ 211 mph. In round two he took out Mason McGaha with a 6.519 @ 211.43 mph. In the semifinal round, he would take on six-time champion Jeg Coughlin. Both drivers left with identical reaction times but Coughlin’s car shook the tires and he had to let off and watch Stanfield run a 6.544 @ 211.16 mph. In the final round Stanfield was able to defeat six-time champion Erica Enders on a hole shot with a .015 to her .032 reaction time as she ran a quicker 6.550 @ 210.87 to his 6.551 @ 211.30.
After an amazing finish at the event in Norwalk, Ohio, two weeks earlier, Ron Capps and Maddi Gordon’s weekend came up short, as both drivers lost when their cars lost traction in the opening round of eliminations. In Funny Car, Capps lost to Austin Prock, while Leah Pruett took out Maddi Gordon. Both drivers had strong running cars and looked good, until that first elimination round.
Though the Pro Stock Motorcycles did not compete at the event in an actual points race, they did contest in a special “call-out” event. Each NHRA professional class has one of these. Top Fuel is run in Gainesville, Funny Car in Indy each year. A this GETRX “Call-Out” event, Gaige Herrera dominated the eight-bike field, and scored his final round win for the money over teammate Richard Gadson.
The next event is the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals, July 24 through 26 in Kent, Washington.
